Behind the Mask
by aethkr
Summary: I'm leaving, but I never wanted to.


" _I may be leaving, but don't cry. I'm not leaving forever. Just call this as a temporary leave."_

 **Behind the Mask**

 **=ChikaRikoYō Friendship=**

Yō forces a smile on her tired face. After practicing for a swimming tournament for so many times, she has finally reached her limit. The smile breaks as she flops onto her bed, the warmth of her bed engulfs her as sleep has taken over her. A letter resides within her bedside table's cabinet. Its seal has been tampered with signifying that the aspiring captain and diver-to-be has opened it. Though by the looks of it, it seemed wet, fresh, small, circular drops of what is possibly made out of water was on the letter. It also seems like the girl has hastily opened it since the letter looks messier.

The next day she awakens, her tired face turning into a small frown when she saw another letter on her bedside table. One that was seemingly sent by her and the date seems to be sent earlier than the last one so the one in the cabinet was a response to what was on the table.

She packs the two letters in her bag to prepare herself; she takes a bath, fixes her clothes, eats breakfast, and hastily heads to school. She takes the bus to school because the school isn't really that near to her house (it's not walking distance). Yoshiko experiences this problem too and usually, they both go to school, and go home together. The activity strengthened their bond, even if it's big or small.

As the class door open which is courtesy of Yō, she spots RIko and Chika waving at her happily but earlier, they seemed engrossed in their conversation. It brought her spirits up when they noticed her but also brought it down when they seemed into what they were talking about just earlier. It looked like Chika and Riko were better friends than Yō and Chika despite the latter two being friends since elementary.

"Good morning Yō-chan!" Chika stood up and hugged Yō as she put down her bag beside her table.

"Good morning Yō-chan." Riko gave Yō a soft smile before signaling to Chika to continue their previous conversation.

Bored, she takes out the one of the response letters she got. She has read quite a bit of it but not enough, that is entirely subjective though since she cried on it last night. After, she took out the other one,

 _Dear Watanabe You-san,_

 _We're glad that you accepted our request! You're one of the best swimmers we know aside from Matsuura-san who refused since she said she had other affairs to deal with._ _We always train our swimmers ahead of time so that when we have a competition, we're all set and ready to go! Please excuse our selfishness, but is it okay if you transfer to our school by next week? It's not involuntary though, if you want, you can go here next year instead._

 _Watanabe-san, we'll make sure to keep you at your best throughout your stay here! Yousoro! Isn't that your catch line? It's a nice one if we may add._

 _From,_

 _Numazu Swimmers Academy_

 _Dear Watanabe You-san,_

 _Thanks for accepting our offer! We'll be transferring you immediately since we heard you have a competition coming up. Make sure to have your things packed! Thanks for your cooperation!_

 _From,_

 _Numazu Swimmers Academy_

If circumstances were different, she would've declined the whole offer to begin with. She would've wanted to stay with her friends and graduate with them. It's just that, at times, feelings take over rational thinking. Chika seemed to be so into Riko these days that Yō wondered if they were even dating at some points. Something she'd rather not admit publicly lest she get lectured about how idols shouldn't have relationships.

It didn't seem like a difficult decision to begin with. Despite that being said, Yō took her time in answering whether she would want to transfer in the middle of the school year or she would rather wait until next year. It was either she temporarily sacrifices her swimming or she permanently sacrifices her friends. The former seemed like a better choice but, she couldn't take it anymore. Everyone seemed to be getting together in pairs or maybe in mini-groups. The girl felt left out.

Her last resort to calming down was to go to the seaside and relax. As the sun set, she sighed and played with the sand that surrounded her. A flashback reminded her of a time when Chika was so frustrated about getting 0 votes during a competition. The mikan-loving girl held all her emotions before finally releasing them much to their relief. For the rest, it was a sentimental moment and just an emotional moment.

For Yō, she had mixed feelings about it. Riko was there when Chika cried. Shouldn't she also be there too? Shouldn't Yō be there? Helping Chika in her time of need? Why wasn't she called upon?

Apparently it was just because they hadn't thought of that. It fueled Yō's hidden anger, suppressed to not look suspicious.

Yō, once it was club time, first headed to the Swimming Club since she knew that Kanan would be there. "Kanan-chan!"

The girl perked up at her name being called as she turned around and smiled warmly at the girl, "What's up Yō?"

Yō hesitated before muttering a small 'sorry'. "Why are you apologizing Yō—"

A small slip was placed on her hand and Kanan only felt confused when she held the slip tightly.

—

Kanan has recovered from the wave of confusion that washed over her earlier. She might have recovered but she still didn't know why Yō chose to do that. Wasn't she happy already at Uranoshi? Or probably….

It can't be right?

Yō would've told them before deciding about something like that.

Chika and Riko seem clueless as well. Kanan figured that Yō might do what she thinks she'd do once the members have their daily meeting, worried, she rushed towards the club room just to see Yō enter it.

"Kanan-chan?" Chika and the rest jumped back in shock after seeing Kanan slam the door open at a fast speed. "Are you okay?"

"I am," Kanan pointed to Yō, "it's Yō you should be asking about."

The girl in question stiffened and avoided eye contact. She slowly got out a familiar looking letter and placed it on the table.

"Don't leave." Dia held Yō's shoulder once she saw the girl try to leave. She gave a sheepish grin and stayed near the door, her hand gripping the doorknob.

Oddly enough, she didn't feel jealous when Riko and Chika were standing very close beside each other. After many weeks of jealousy, it probably have maybe grown on her; and yet it still hurt, it still hurt that she was with Riko and not her. Yō reminded herself that her decision was final and all she can do is move forward.

They were still reading the letter which was odd since it was just short. Her eyes observed them and she realized that they were done reading, they were just speechless. Chika hugged her tightly before Yō even had time to blink. "Why didn't you tell us about this?"

"How could I?" Yō looked at Chika. "You were always with Riko-chan. The third years seem to be getting along. The first years have Yoshiko as their third wheel but at least she gets included most of the time. I felt left out."

Yō looked away as she held back her tears. _I'm not going to cry now._ "I didn't know how to deal with the jealousy any more. I didn't want to force you to go back with me because I know how much you value your friendship with Riko-chan."

"We care about you too!" Riko's sad look made Yō guilty.

"I know I know." Her head was down. "Ah…I have to go. I might be late."

No one stopped Yō when she twisted the handle and opened the door. "See ya." And the door closed.

Yō's unexpressed feelings and Chika and Riko's ignorance towards Yō lead to this.

And the three never felt such a heavy weight on their heart before.

—

 **Angsty isn't it? I don't know. Kinda rushed the last parts.**

 **Procrastination sucks. But at least I have another SS! one-shot because I've been wanting to make one for a while.**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **YOUSORO!**


End file.
